Invictus [Tom Riddle / Tomione]

All Along the Watchtower

Hermione woke the next morning to the sound of her record player spinning. She rose to consciousness slowly, the sound of the music penetrating through the door of her bedroom. The sun streamed in through her floor-to-ceiling diamond paned windows, and Hermione sat up in bed.

She wished she felt sated and at peace, but her heart was in turmoil.

There was still a pending investigation, a trap laid for Tom which she was not privy to, and a hundred other obstacles that lay before them... and yet, he somehow seemed to think that they could overcome them.

It was either bravery or utter lunacy.

Hermione stood and walked barefoot across the hardwood floors to open the door. The music became louder as she took to the hallway and made her way through the sitting room to the kitchen.

The record player spun, playing Jimi Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower throughout the flat.

She found Tom shirtless in the kitchen, brewing coffee and tea. Sitting on the counter was a pan of freshly baked scones, still warm, their smell permeating the flat.

Hermione cleared her throat and cocked a brow, and he turned, his lips curling into a smirk when he laid eyes on her. They flicked over her in quick appraisal before meeting hers with sparkling mirth and undeniable heat. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she said slowly, still taking in the sight of Tom Riddle standing in her kitchen, garbed only in his trousers and a pair of black socks, a cigarette in his hand.

"Since when did you learn to bake?" she asked, gesturing to the scones.

He ran his tongue over his teeth. "Since you decided to leave me, of course, without teaching me how to make them, as you promised." He smiled and sauntered over to where she stood, sliding one hand against the small of her back as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I missed your scones, little witch... but I missed you more."

Hermione didn't know how to react. Tom was rarely this... romantic , particularly in the morning. She usually found him awake before her and buried in a book, or teasing her about her bed hair, or any other such sarcastic quip. He loved to wake up ahead of her and immediately research the topic they'd debated the night before, so he could refute her claims over coffee and infuriate the hell out of her.

But baking her scones and saying that he missed her?

That was quite out of character for him.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Quite well, darling. Come have a scone, before I eat them all and leave you none."

Hermione narrowed her eyes and skirted around him warily, taking her seat at the table. She watched as he placed a scone and a cup of earl grey in front of her.

She glared at his back as he walked away.

Strange behavior.

She reached for the scone and nervously lifted it to her mouth. She held it for a moment before she sat it back down.

"Tom..."

He turned, looking at her and then the scone. His eyes narrowed, eyebrow cocked. "Yes?"

She swallowed. "Did you poison the minister?"

He snorted, then took a long drag from his cigarette. "No, my dear. It was as you said... she was allergic to alihotsy."

Hermione's eyes flicked to the scone in front of her.

Tom gazed at her for a moment before shock registered in his expression. "You think I poisoned your scone?!"

Hermione's mouth fell open, and she shifted in her seat. "No, I- of course not."